A Mississippi Army National Guardsman was found dead Friday at Fort Gordon, Ga., in the post's training area after he failed to arrive at a designated location during training, officials said.

A Mississippi Army National Guardsman and Bronze Star recipient was found dead Friday at Fort Gordon, Ga., in the post's training area after he failed to arrive at a designated location during training, officials said.

Fort Gordon officials identified the man as 2nd Lt. Anthony Thomas Scardino, 27, of Oak Grove. Friends said he was a recent Mississippi College Law School graduate, and was well-respected by his classmates.

"Tony was rare among men in that he was not quick to talk about himself or brag of his accomplishments," said law school classmate Lance Martin. "He was humble in the best sense of the word: a refreshing characteristic in our culture of me-centered braggadocio."

"His smile often cut through law school tension, his encouraging words constantly lifting others up. He knew how to serve others, quite possibly a lesson learned from his parents, strengthened by the Army, and forged through times with his wife," Martin said.

Scardino had been married to his wife, Katy, for two years, friends said.

A release on Friday said more than 90 soldiers and the post's Directorate of Emergency Services were involved in a search for Scardino after he didn't arrive at a designated location Friday afternoon. His body was located at about 10 p.m.

Scardino was temporarily assigned to the 442nd Signal Battalion, 15th Regimental Signal Brigade at Fort Gordon for training in the Signal Basic Officer Leadership Course, according to the statement.

The cause and circumstances of Scardino's death are under investigation.

Scardino's childhood friend William Alford Pierce remembered a time when they were children and got lost in the woods for several hours during November.

"We finally made our way to a road and a fireman picked us up," Pierce said. "But what I remember most was that he let me borrow his jacket. I wasn't really dressed for it, and he had a big Dallas Cowboys Starter jacket that he let me wear."

He was the youngest of six cousins -- all boys -- in his family, his cousin Chris Townsend said.

"It's a strange thing to lose the youngest of all of us and the one who was about to start his life, and there's that sudden odd number," Townsend said. "And there are the childhood memories of all six of us getting together and playing cards, and learning card tricks, and doing the silly kid stuff you get when you put six kids in a room with a bunch of GI Joes."

Even as the youngest, he as still someone they all respected into adulthood, Townsend said.

"For someone of his age, especially, he was genuinely the kind of person you could admire. Whatever he did, he did passionately and fully. He genuinely loved his country, he was madly in love with his wife, he loved his family, and he loved his career," Townsend said.

Martin said Scardino was a hard worker. He was focused on his studies in times that some other students took advantage of chances to slack off.

"This is why he did better than I did in school. This is why he graduated with high honors. This is why he was soon to begin a clerkship for a federal judge," Martin said. "This is why he would have been a great attorney."

Townsend, already an attorney, agreed.

"I actually stayed with him when I went and took the bar. His grasp already, in his first or second year, he was already way ahead of the average," Townsend said. "There's no question in my mind he would have been an exceptional attorney. I don't say that about most people."

Scardino deployed to Iraq in 2006 and to Afghanistan in 2009. He received a direct commission to second lieutenant on Nov. 20, 2013, as a Signal officer, according to the statement.

Scardino enlisted in the Mississippi Army National Guard on May 26, 2003, as a satellite communication systems operator-maintainer, achieving the rank of staff sergeant during more than 10 years of enlisted service.

During his military career, Scardino received the Bronze Star Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the Humanitarian Service Medal, the Overseas Service Ribbon, the NATO Medal, the Armed Forces Reserve Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Mississippi War Medal, the Mississippi Emergency Service Medal and the Parachutists Badge.

"It is the greatest of tragedies when we suddenly lose the difference makers, those with such a bright, promising future," Martin said.

Pierce said it's hard to sum up his friend's life in just a few sentences.

"As his friend, it's hard to sum that up for someone else. He really cared about other people, and he was really really intelligent, and he was good at everything he did," Pierce said. "There was nothing he couldn't have put his mind to and done. He was that kind of guy. He never spoke badly about anyone, and he was a genuinely nice person."